The Texas Rangers secured the comeback win Friday night over the Arizona Diamondbacks by a score of 6-5 in 11 innings. The Rangers registered clutch hits in the late innings to carry them to the victory. The Rangers’ offence showed why it was so potent in the regular season throughout the game.
W: Jose Leclerc (1-1) L: Miguel Castro (0-1)
Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks:
Considering how poorly Gallen had been throughout the postseason, his start in Game 1 of the World Series wasn’t as bad. Gallen went 5.0 frames, yielding 3 earned runs on 4 hits and 4 walks. The Diamondbacks’ ace also struck out 5 batters, which was a positive sign due to the lack of swing-and-miss stuff early on in the playoffs from Gallen.
One of the main problems from Gallen is one he’s been dealing with throughout the postseason. This issue is the lack of command from the right-hander. He gave up 4 walks in his 5 innings of work, with 2 of those walked batters coming into score. On these free passes, the Rangers’ batters averaged more than 6 pitches per plate appearance.
Overall, this Game 1 start from Gallen wasn’t necessarily great, but it can be considered something to build off of. Arizona’s ace will have to return to form and punch batters out early and often so the Diamondbacks’ rotation can be strengthened against Texas’ explosive offence.
Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers:
Nathan Eovaldi’s night did not go as planned. The 6’1” veteran went 4.2 innings, giving up 5 earned runs on 6 hits and a walk. Eovaldi continued his high strikeout numbers, however, as he punched 8 batters out Friday night. The 33-year-old right-hander’s postseason ERA increased to 3.52. Texas will look for Eovaldi to rebound in his next start, which will likely be Game 4.
Eovaldi’s outing began really well, as the starter retired the first 6 Arizona batters he faced. The righty let up 3 earned runs in the third inning. He made some solid pitches throughout the at-bats in that 3rd frame, but Arizona’s hitters were patient and got their bats to the balls. When the ball is put in play, good things happen for the offence.
The breakdown of Eovaldi’s strikeouts is as follows:
Splitter – 4 K’s
Four-Seam Fastball – 3 K’s
Curveball – 1 K
Eovaldi’s splitter and four-seam fastball will always be the pitches he most prominently uses. Splitters and fastballs look exactly the same coming out of the hand, but the splitter has sudden downward break, forcing hitters to be early on and on top of the pitch. In that third inning, Arizona pounced on the first pitch 57% of the time.
Eovaldi didn’t necessarily have an elite outing for his standards, but it was good enough for the Rangers to win Game 1.
Offensive Breakdown, Diamondbacks:
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ offence was solid against one of the top postseason starters of 2023. Fast forward to the third inning, Arizona had runners on second and third with 1 out. Phenom Corbin Carroll stepped up to the dish and ripped a low and away splitter to centre field. Rangers’ centre fielder Leody Taveras misplayed the ball and it rolled right past him. Both runners scored and Carroll’s triple tied the game at 2.
The next batter, Ketel Marte, roped a ground ball straight to Nate Lowe. Lowe came home with the ball, hoping to get Corbin Carroll before he scored. However, the throw was off-line, allowing Carroll to score. Arizona took the lead 3-2 on this wild play.
After Texas added on a run in the bottom of the 3rd, Diamondbacks’ outfielder Tommy Pham came up to the dish to lead off the 4th frame. Pham received an 87.5 MPH splitter on the inner half of the plate and crushed it 419 feet to left field. Arizona took the lead 4-3 after this dinger.
In the top of the 5th inning, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo slapped a single to centre field. Then, Perdomo stole second base to put himself in scoring position. A batter later, Ketel Marte came up, hoping to continue his red-hot postseason. Eovaldi hurled a curveball to Marte that caught too much of the plate. Marte crushed it to centre field for an RBI double to extend Arizona’s lead to 5-3.
The Diamondbacks were able to score 5 runs throughout the middle innings, but they lacked the patience in the late innings to keep up with the Rangers’ potent offensive attack.
Offensive Breakdown, Rangers:
The Texas Rangers’ offence was able to get clutch hits when they needed them during the late innings of the ballgame. In the first inning, Texas got off to an ideal start. After Marcus Semien grounded out, Corey Seager walked. Rookie phenom Evan Carter stepped up to the plate and crushed a fastball from Zac Gallen for an RBI double. Then, postseason superstar Adolis Garcia laced a 116 MPH single to left field to score Carter from second base to extend the Rangers’ lead to 2-0.
The bottom of the 3rd inning began rather poorly for the Rangers. Leody Taveras and Marcus Semien both struck out to begin the frame. However, Corey Seager took his 2nd walk of the game and Evan Carter beat the shift and hit a ground ball-double to left field. Zac Gallen gave Adolis Garcia the free pass, bringing up Mitch Garver with the bases loaded. Mitch Garver had an elite 8-pitch at-bat that resulted in a RBI walk. This walk tied the game 3-3. Jonah Heim stepped up to the plate, but he was unable to break the game open, flying out to centre field.
In the bottom of the 9th inning, Arizona was winning 5-3 with Texas down to their final 3 outs. Corey Seager came up as the tying run with 1 man on and 1 out and unloaded on a first-pitch fastball from the Diamondbacks’ closer, Paul Sewald. Globe Life Field erupted during this game-tying dinger. Corey Seager has always hit well in Globe Life Field, dating back to his Dodgers days in the 2020 World Series.
The ballgame was tied 5-5 heading into the bottom of the 11th. Arizona sent out fireballer Miguel Castro to pitch the 11th, However, Adolis Garcia continued mashing and took a 97 MPH sinker from Castro and crushed it to the bleachers in right field. Adolis Garcia concluded an incredible Game 1 with his walk-off oppo-taco that sent the Rangers’ fans home happy.
Top Performers, Diamondbacks:
Corbin Carroll (RF) – 1-5, Run, 2 RBI
Ketel Marte (2B) – 1-5, 2 RBI, SB
Tommy Pham (DH) – 1-5, Run, HR, RBI
Alek Thomas (CF) – 2-5, Run, SB
Kyle Nelson (RP) – 1.1 IP, Hit, 2 K’s
Top Performers, Rangers:
Corey Seager (SS) – 1-4, 3 Runs, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Evan Carter (LF) – 2-6, Run, RBI
Adolis Garcia (RF) – 3-4, Run, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Josh Jung (3B) – 2-5
Jon Gray (RP) – 1.2 IP, Hit, 4 K’s
Jose Leclerc (RP) – 2.0 IP, 2 K’s, W
Adolis Garcia made history on Friday night, setting the record for the most RBI in a single postseason at 22. Garcia and the Rangers look to extend their World Series winning streak to 2 games on Saturday night. Game 2 of the World Series goes at 8:03 PM EST, with Jordan Montgomery taking the mound for the Rangers. Merrill Kelly looks to continue his postseason success for the Diamondbacks. Arizona will look to tie up the World Series at 1 a piece, while the Rangers hope to extend their series lead to 2-0.
(Photo Via Rob Schumacher/Arizona Republic/USA TODAY NETWORK)